Chinese Moon, Broken Tea
by UnendingEmpire
Summary: The long-overdue sequel of Poisonous Chinese Tea. As Gensokyo will, it's taken on new residents; youkai hunters with power greater than that of the usual incident-solvers. Add a few familiar faces into the mix, and quite a cup of tea is stirred with which another unique story is spun.


**Remember how I said I'd do this a long time ago, but I never actually did? Now I am. If you enjoyed Poisonous Chinese Tea, you'll love this story, I promise you. Like the last one, some protagonists and all the antagonists are of my own creation, but there's more antagonists than last time. In the last fanfic, I had as bad guys, Judas, Mundis, Persona, and Enigma. This time, there's six antagonists spread over one long arc and one shorter one.**

**Or at least, that's how I hope this goes ^_^;**

* * *

If six years ago, somebody had told Hong Meiling she wouldn't be a gatekeeper, she'd call them crazy; she'd call them outright madmen if they said that _she_ would be the one to make the decision. Sure enough, though, here she was. She didn't live at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but her company was always welcome; Remilia was always pleased to see at least one familiar face besides Patchouli. That was where she was headed, alongside a particular tsurupettan oni.

"Meiling," Suika asked in her usual drunken way. "I gotta -hic- ask ya something."

"Yeah?"

"Do you still -hic- think about Judas sometimes?" She referred, of course, to one Judas Nekross; the necromancer who came through here five years ago and stirred up some trouble. But that wasn't why the oni still thought about him from time to time. Suika thought about him because he came back after dying, as a hero no less. He'd saved Meiling and Suika from death more times than she cared to count or remember, and sacrificed himself to save the day during Gensokyo's darkest hour. That was why there was a golden statue of him in the middle of the Human Village; Meiling had built it by hand all by herself, and Suika helped make the plaque that rested on the base of the statue.

"Judas was the kind of human you don't go around forgetting about. At first, he was antagonistic and a general ass, but when he turned to good, he was a real helpful guy, even if he was still just as cocky as usual." And there were the carvings that appeared on the statue's base from time to time. People always gave Meiling a heads-up when it happened, and she hadn't forgotten a single one. The very first one was still fresh in her mind…

* * *

**Five years ago; Human Village…**

_Every time she came here, she read the plaque on it aloud. "In memory of Judas Nekross, a human necromancer who proved that no matter how far down the path of evil a person walks, there is always a chance to find the light again. Judas came into Gensokyo as a murderer, and was hated as such. A month later, he returned to us as a martyr who sacrificed his life for those of everybody in Gensokyo."_

_"It was -hic- really thoughtful of you, Meiling. I'm sure he'd love it." Meiling began walking ahead, until Suika saw something new. "Wait! There's more!"_

_"What?" Meiling went back to the statue, and there was more. Beneath the plaque, three words were etched into the gold. "Is that even possible?"_

_Beneath the plaque, the words "He's become stronger" were etched into the base of the statue._

_Meiling simply smiled at the words, and said "You sure have, Judas…"_

* * *

"I don't think his prophecy was dead-on. Either that, or somebody's just playing pranks on me."

"I'm -hic- pretty sure nobody's that sick. Well…maybe -hic- Yu-"

"Run," screamed a blue-haired karakasa, flying right past the duo of youkai and oni. "Youkai hunters!"

"Youkai hunters, is it?" Meiling started cracking her knuckles, in case they decided to pick a fight with Hong Meiling: former gatekeeper and once-legendary adventurer.

"That's what she -hic- said," Suika pointed out, taking down a massive swig of saké. She didn't need to crack anything; an oni's might was more powerful than whatever these people could possibly-

_SLICE!_ The braid on the right side of Meiling's face got severed clean off. Meiling looked at the almost-injury, then at the person behind her; a human who seemed like he knew what he was doing, but he also seemed pretty irritated.

"Damn," he said. "That was supposed to chop your head clean off. Best get that karakasa, then." _FWOOSH!_ As fast as the wind, he was gone.

"…" That must have been one of the youkai hunters the karakasa was running from. Which begged the question, where were the others?

* * *

**Not much later; Scarlet Devil Mansion…**

"Yikes," Meiling said, looking at the garden of the mansion. "Looks more like Lady Flandre's work than any kind of snake." Turning to the girl who'd been keeping the gates for the last five years, Meiling said "You're doing pretty good at your job, Zabi."

"That means a lot," the snake youkai said happily. Getting compliments about her work from Meiling - the person behind all of Zabi's inspiration to be a gatekeeper - meant a lot to her, and it always brightened her day when it happened. "Lady Remilia's been expecting you both, so just go on in."

"Will do," Meiling said, dragging along an oni who seemed particularly fascinated by the bloody carnage that covered a once-beautiful garden. Meiling tried not to look; sure the garden wasn't quite like it was when she was responsible for it, but it still didn't make her feel any better about seeing it covered in corpses and blood. But before Meiling could touch the front door, it opened, with an ecstatic red-haired succubus standing behind it. "Hey there, Koakuma. I haven't seen you look this happy in years. What happened?"

"You're not going to believe it," Koakuma said, unable to contain her excitement. "Miss Patchouli was sending me out to fetch you two just now to tell and show you both! It's a miracle!"

"Well, come on, out with it. What's such a miracle?"

* * *

**Voile…**

"Ah, hello again, Meiling, Suika." Sitting right there at the table, across from Patchouli, was a blonde-haired human man. One who wore a blue trench coat and had a dark glimmer in his eyes that lingered from most of his career as a necromancer.

"Judas!"

"I _did_ tell you I was coming back, didn't I? Why so surprised?"

"You -hic- never said that," Suika protested.

"Of course I did. Five years ago; he's become stronger. Three years ago; not even death will stop him. One year ago; expect him. Yesterday; he's back." He referred to a few of the carvings he'd left from beyond the grave; the ones that rested at the base of the golden statue of himself. "And I appreciate the statue, by the way; I've always wanted a statue of me built."

"You've got a bit of explaining to do," Meiling said, having a seat herself. "You told me that you'd get completely erased from existence alongside Enigma. If that's really true, how are you sitting here right now?"

"Ah, Meiling." Reaching into his right eye socket, Judas pulled out his own eye with just about no effort at all; it looked horribly rotted, and Judas didn't seem to feel any pain from pulling out his own eye.

"Gross."

"You don't seriously think I'd fight something that big without becoming a lich behind everybody's backs, do you?" _BAM!_ Off with his head. That was the effect of Meiling's devastating punch; a punch he hadn't been on the receiving end of in years. And just like last time he was the one getting punched by Meiling, Judas's body began reconstructing itself in a black smoke. "It was to test my lichdom, wasn't it?" Tossing the rotted eye up and down in his hand, Judas said "My eye is what I decided to use to anchor myself to the world, since it'd take quite an effort to figure out that it _was _my eye. By some miracle, this little bit of my flesh survived me sacrificing myself, but it took an awfully long time for me to recover from something that massive."

"So you defied fate by becoming a lich…"

"Interested?"

"Hell no!" Meiling sat herself down at the table, with Suika sitting across from her. "Is this all you wanted; to let us know you're alive?"

"Of course not. I thought you two knew me well enough to know that when I call you, it's important. As you may have noticed, there are a few new additions to Gensokyo's population, all of which are human."

"Youkai hunters; I passed one on the way here."

"Yes, a few dozen of them. Most of them are pretty weak, but four of them are rather large names back in the outside world, if you associate with people who delve into the supernatural. Although, there is one other arrival worth mention. Yes, _one_ other…"

"And who would that be?" Judas wasn't somebody Meiling had ever expected to see again. His intentions had better have been good ones, or he'd have Hong Meiling to answer to once more.

"Kira Okure. My young apprentice. I'm certain my years of absence have been devastating for the girl, but I can sense her power in Gensokyo. She'll come here, eventually, and her master shall be waiting for her."

_Her master…_ Koakuma looked a little sad to hear that Judas had an apprentice. Masters generally took on a parent-like affection for their apprentices, and during his last visit here, the necromancer and the succubus had developed something special and far more intimate than what either could find alone. "Ehrm…Master Judas…may I see you alone for a moment?"

"Of course." Standing up, Judas said "If you'll excuse me." Koakuma had addressed Judas as "Master" earlier today too, which had led to some angry questions from Patchouli. All was explained by the necromancer himself, and now it wasn't something the one-week magician minded quite as much.

"Yep," Suika said between gulps of saké. "Same -hic- old Judas. Pops in when you least expect him, and he's always got another surprise up -hic- his sleeve. He never mentioned -hic- an apprentice before, but if this Kira girl is -hic- anything like Judas used to be, we'd better keep a close eye on -hic- her."

"You've got that right," Meiling said. "We'd better figure out what to do about these hunters, though." Suika was an obvious target; oni were youkai of the highest caliber. Remilia would also be a big target; no doubt her name was spoken of among youkai hunters in the outside world with all her claims to be descended from Dracula. It kind of upset Meiling that she was the least likely to be targeted. She'd have to deal with it, though, and just take out these youkai hunters. Because this was Gensokyo; the world of youkai.

* * *

**Unknown location; potentially different time…**

"Master," the demonic girl said, kneeling down before her superior. He was their leader, but these two had specific plans of their own. "The gate has appeared."

"Really," he asked. Even if he looked to be in his late twenties, this man had to be older than Gensokyo itself, at the least. "Fascinating. How long do you believe it will be before the gate opens?"

"I'm unable to find out. Even if I could, with time distortions between this world and others, knowing would be pointless."

"How unfortunately useless of an answer." Standing up, the man's samurai armor clanked lightly as he ordered his heavily armored comrade, "I want the gate under constant watch. If something breathes within its vicinity, I want to be informed."

"Yes, master." With that, the girl left to watch the gate. Why was he the one in charge, though? She was vastly more powerful than he was, but almost all of her power was locked away. So was his; that was why they were here in this world. After their power was sealed, they were locked away so that they could never threaten any world again, but that was until they learned of the gate; a supranatural cosmic phenomenon that connected all worlds for five whole seconds. It happened once every 20,000 years, and it was going to happen again soon. Where walking through the gate would send them, however, was a mystery to all.

But why was _he_ in charge? She could kill him in seconds if she wanted…

* * *

**I'll bet you were all very happy to see Judas again. I know I was pleased to bring him back; ever the scheming necromancer he is. However, on the note of Kira…**

**I originally planned to do a comedic spin-off fic starring her doing various things throughout the events of Poisonous Chinese Tea, but having her appear in this seemed like a better idea. Over her time as an OC, Kira's had two different appearances. The first was literally a picture of PC-98 Marisa, and the other was a special form for Sayaka Miki from Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I'll be picking out an entirely new look for her in this fic, and a downright adorable familiar named Blaze too. Adorable familiars are always funny characters, and I don't think the prequel had enough humor in it with only Suika able to keep us laughing.**

**In short, combine the old concept of "bad guys coming into Gensokyo" with my new style of writing, and you'll have a general idea of how I hope this ends up :D**


End file.
